Microsoft Agrees Term to Obtain 4.8 Million Tons of Carbon Capture through Enhanced Forestry Management Practices
Microsoft Strengthens Commitment to Carbon Removal with 10-Year Agreement
Microsoft has announced a significant 10-year nature-based carbon removal agreement with Anew Climate and Aurora Sustainable Lands. This partnership aims to secure 4.8 million forest carbon removal credits, furthering Microsoft's efforts to meet its climate goals.
The collaboration between these three entities marks the second major agreement between Microsoft, Anew, and Aurora, following a previous agreement for 970,000 carbon removal credits. This latest deal signifies a growing trend among large corporations to secure long-term nature-based carbon removals to mitigate emissions and support forest preservation and related ecosystems.
Anew Climate, founded in 2001, specialises in climate solutions, focusing on reducing carbon footprints and restoring the environment. On the other hand, Aurora Sustainable Lands manages over 1.7 million acres of U.S. forestland, previously used for industrial logging. Aurora employs a carbon stewardship strategy, ensuring the highest integrity and quality of its carbon credits.
The carbon credits generated from Aurora's projects are marketed by Anew Climate. The new agreement will utilise Anew's Epoch Evaluation Platform for location-specific tracking and validation of forest carbon baselines. This platform leverages machine learning, high-resolution satellite imagery, drone data, and ground-based field measurements.
The agreement represents a significant commitment to scaling forest carbon projects through measurable, verified carbon credits over the decade. Specifically, the new agreement will protect over 425,000 acres of forestland and support carbon removal efforts on projects across New York, Virginia, West Virginia, Kentucky, and Florida.
Anew Climate and Aurora Sustainable Lands have designed a custom project that meets Microsoft's standards for durability and integrity. This includes extended monitoring, tech-enabled quantification, perpetual working forest easements, and covenants. Under the terms of the agreement, Anew Climate and Aurora Sustainable Lands have agreed to deliver 4.8 million nature-based carbon removal credits to Microsoft over 10 years.
The new agreement comes as Microsoft continues to demonstrate its commitment to advancing the integrity and impact of improved forest management. The tech giant aims to become carbon negative by 2030 and sees this latest agreement as a step towards achieving that goal. According to Angela Schwarz, CEO of Anew Climate, the agreement sets a new standard for nature-based carbon removals, pairing technical rigor with environmental stewardship at scale.
This partnership also benefits the broader market and accelerates the collective path to net zero, according to Schwarz. Microsoft, by far the largest corporate buyer of carbon removal credits globally, having contracted nearly 22 million tons of carbon removal last year alone, is setting an example for other corporations to follow.
The new agreement between Microsoft and Anew Climate and Aurora Sustainable Lands is the second multi-million ton carbon removal agreement announced by Microsoft this week, following a 2.6 million ton soil-based deal with Agoro Carbon.
1) Microsoft's 10-year agreement with Anew Climate and Aurora Sustainable Lands focuses on nature-based carbon removal, aiming to secure 4.8 million forest carbon removal credits.2) Anew Climate, an entity specializing in climate solutions and environmental-science, and Aurora Sustainable Lands, which manages U.S. forestland employing a carbon stewardship strategy, will offer 4.8 million nature-based carbon removal credits to Microsoft over 10 years.3) The agreement, part of Microsoft's commitment to carbon removal and climate-change mitigation, centers around a custom project designed to address Microsoft's standards for durability and integrity, utilizing technology for verification and monitoring.4) This partnership between Microsoft, Anew Climate, and Aurora showcases how impact investing, technology, and business can collaborate to finance climate-change solutions and support the environment.
